Assembly Point – a location designated as the place to meet or gather in the event of an emergency.

Emergency Operations Center – The University Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is located at the Public Safety complex in Storrs, CT. In times of crisis, the EOC is activated and staffed with appropriate University professionals who allocate and direct University resources to address any issues the particular crisis may present across all campuses. This allows for one central agency to coordinate all response and restoration activity effectively and efficiently. The EOC provides a variety of communication methods that are linked to the statewide Office of Emergency Management. Examples that could result in EOC activation include severe weather events, violent acts on campus, increased threat levels, evacuation, etc. All members of the UConn EOC are trained in their particular roles, allowing for immediate activation if required.

Emergency Operations Plan – OEM has developed the University Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) with involvement from the campus community. The EOP is an all-hazards plan that details the procedures for planning, response, recovery, and mitigation of hazards and threats to the University of Connecticut at all campus locations. The purpose of the EOP is to provide timely guidance in the event of an emergency. EOP’s assign responsibility, establish organizational structure, identify resources, and describe both mitigation and protection efforts. Essential University of Connecticut personnel review the document to become familiar with its guidelines prior to an emergency event. The EOP is reviewed and tested annually to ensure effectiveness.

Incident Action Plan – “Incident action plans (IAPs) provide a coherent means of communicating the overall incident objectives in the contexts of both operational and support activities.” (DHS, National Incident Management System, March 2004, p. 10).

Incident Command System (ICS) – “The ICS is a management system designed to enable effective and efficient domestic incident management by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure, designed to enable effective and efficient domestic incident management. A basic premise of ICS is that it is widely applicable. It is used to organize both near-term and long-term field-level operations for a broad spectrum of emergencies, from small to complex incidents, either natural or manmade. Federal, State, local, tribal as well as many private sector and NGOs use ICS. ICS is also applicable across disciplines. It is normally structured to facilitate activities in five major functional areas: command, operations, planning, logistics, and finance and administration.” (DHS, National Incident Management System, March 2004, p. 7).

National Incident Management System (NIMS) – “Provides a systematic, proactive approach guiding government agencies at all levels, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations to work seamlessly to prepare for, prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity, in order to reduce the loss of life or property and harm to the environment.” (FEMA, NIMS (FEMA 501/Draft), 2007, p. 155).

Preparedness – “The range of deliberate critical tasks and activities necessary to build, sustain, and improve the operational capability to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents. Preparedness is a continuous process involving efforts at all levels of government and between government and private sector and nongovernmental organizations to identify threats, determine vulnerabilities, and identify required activities and resources to mitigate risk.” (DHS, National Infrastructure Protection Plan, 2006, p. 104).

UConnREADY – UConnREADY is a public safety awareness and preparedness campaign that is designed to create a community proud to be safe. UConnREADY was developed by the Office of Emergency Management with the input of many university partners. The campaign applies to our entire campus community. All huskies should be prepared for emergencies on or off campus. If you are UConnREADY, you have taken the time to educate yourself in our resources, disaster preparedness information, evacuation procedures, and more.

Unified Command – Unified command provides the basis from which multiple agencies can work together effectively with a common objective of effectively managing an incident. Unified command ensures that regardless of the number of agencies or jurisdictions involved, all decisions will be based on mutually specified objectives (DHS, NRF Comment Draft, September 2007, pp. 46-47).

Unity of Command – “Unity of command means that every individual has a designated supervisor to whom they report at the scene of the incident. These principles clarify reporting relationships and eliminate the confusion caused by multiple, conflicting directives. Incident managers at all levels must be able to control the actions of all personnel under their supervision.” (DHS, National Incident Management System, 2004, p. 11).